


The Wandering Spirit

by XenaAthena



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2019-09-12 07:06:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16868380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XenaAthena/pseuds/XenaAthena
Summary: On a daring Quest to reclaim his homeland, Thorin unexpectedly meets Blu Deverarow. Her eccentric and charismatic nature will forever change his life in ways he never imagined…





	1. Nowhere

“KILL HER!”

Blu’s eyes widen in surprise at the command, as screams and roars came from the various orcs that stood before her. Spinning around, she shot off like an arrow through the forest. The trees are nothing but a blur to her as she runs. Her heartbeat is deafening in her ears but through the rapid pulsing, she can hear Orcs not far behind her. 

Her body jolts when arrows go flying past her and one grazes her face causing her to huff in annoyance. Seeing a fallen tree in her path, she throws her bodyweight back and her legs slide across the earth. Squinting her eyes, she watches as the sunlight fades and her vision is filled with the tree’s bark.

Letting out a startled squeak, she goes rolling down a hillside and the world turns around and around for her. Her body twists and turns in various directions, leaving her comically somersaulting her way down. For a moment she believes she stopped somersaulting but instead of earth beneath her it’s now air and she flails her arms about. 

Her eyes widen as the ground comes towards her face at an alarming rate and she shuts them tightly. Her body collides with the ground, causing a puff of dirt to fill the air around her. “That hurt…..aye that  _really_  hurt…..that’s gonna leave a mark…or two…..or three.”

“Identify yourself,” a baritone voice demands from above her.

Rolling onto her back, she sees a gleaming sword’s blade pointed at her through the curtain of hair that is covering her face. “Identify  _yourself_ ,” she groans, struggling to push her unruly hair out of her face.

“Blu?” an approaching voice asks and instantly she recognizes the voice as it belongs to her longtime friend Gandalf the Grey.

Gandalf pushes his way past the gathered dwarves and sees Blu laying on the ground with Thorin’s sword pointed downwards at her. “I should have known it was you who fell onto our path,” he muses with a shake of his head.

“You know her?” Thorin glances at Gandalf before returning his gaze to Blu, who pokes the side of his sword’s blade.

“As  _dazzling_  as this sword is could you get it out of my face?” She pushes the sword away and Thorin slowly lowers it to his side.

Gandalf comes to Blu’s aid with an outstretched hand to her that she grasps and he pulls her upright. Long, unruly, dark auburn hair conceals her face and Gandalf smiles fondly at her while she brushes off the front side of her dress. The wine colored dress with long bellowed sleeves that she wears is covered in dirt and it’s a futile effort to remove the dirt. 

It appears to have once been a floor length dress but has been torn or cut jaggedly to fall just below her knees, exposing cream-colored slacks and black worn boots. A thin black belt adorns her waist with a sword’s sheath attached to it and an Ivory ribbon tied into a bow hangs from the belt. Huffing she gives up on ridding her dress of the dirt and mud.

“You are always one to make  _the most_  unexpected entrances,” Gandalf teases.

Brushing her hair back with her hand, Blu looks up at Gandalf with a joyful smile. “Oh, you know me, just have to make life more exciting,” she laughs.

She then turns to Thorin and when they lock eyes, he’s  _awestruck_  by her eyes. They are a fierce pale green with hints of gold in them and they seem to shine brightly against her fair skin tone. Her dark auburn hair compliments not only her skin tone but her eyes as well, rather beautifully.

Gandalf looks from her to Thorin and clears his throat. “Thorin, this is Blu Deverarow a dear friend of mine.”

Thorin glances up at him with a nod before looking to Blu once more. Her features are soft and delicate, slightly round cheeks, a slim nose and plump round rosy lips but no facial hair other than her eyebrows. He’s reminded of an elf as he looks at her but her ears are just  _slightly_ pointed and appear to be leaning more towards human than elf. Making him wonder if she has elf within her lineage.

She has slightly broad shoulders and her waist dips inwards giving her an hourglass shape. But, she has what he would call ‘birthing hips’, which is a compliment amongst his people. Height wise, she comes to just under his nose. All in all, she has the height and semi build of a dwarf. Yet, though he would not voice it, he found her to be  _very bonny_  something which bothered him in a way he was not certain of.

“Blu, this is Thorin Oakenshield,” Gandalf says while pointing at him “And this is his company,” he gestures behind Thorin.

Blu leans sideways to look behind Thorin to reveal twelve other dwarves and a hobbit. She gives them a small wave before furrowing her brows at what Gandalf meant. “Company?” She looks up at Gandalf who opens his mouth to say something but is cut off by the sound of roars and screams of anger that are drawing near. Thorin and his company all draw their weapons while the hobbit rushes to Gandalf’s side with a fearful expression.

“Uh oh,” Blu says, rocking back and forth on her feet.

Gandalf looks down at her with a raised brow. “ _Blu_.”

“Yes?” she sweetly replies with a faint mischievous smile.

“What did you do?”

“Well -” she begins but a pack of sixteen Orcs suddenly jump a few feet ahead of them and she shoved behind Thorin and his company. Stumbling due to the force of the shove she regains her balance and furrows her brows at the dwarves who have created a barrier between her and the Orcs.

“What are you doing?” she asks and blinks curiously at Thorin as he briefly glances at her over his shoulder.

She doesn’t receive an answer from Thorin or his company which puzzles her but doesn’t give them another thought as the orcs charge with a slew of deafening screams. No way is she standing down, drawing her sword she somehow slips from behind the dwarves and charges the orcs head-on. She looks absolutely insane as she is no taller than the dwarfs herself.

Blu doesn’t stop despite hearing Gandalf calling her back and disappears within the pack. She slices the head off one then dodges the others who are clawing and yielding their weapons blindly at her. No matter which way she turns, she’s met with another sword, dagger, ax or claw. Letting out a yelp of pain, she’s struck in the face by the hilt of a sword that busts her bottom lip open along the left side.  _“Ow!”_ she groans and then four Orcs that were around her fall dead at her feet.  _That’s odd._  Looking up she sees Thorin who nods at her before spinning around a stabbing an orc in the chest. Looking around, she finds his company fighting various orcs. There is no time for questions or even a thank you as the Orcs are becoming desperate.

Its absolute chaos, everyone fighting against one or more Orcs and Blu finds herself pinned underneath an Orc. She doesn’t know how it happened, one second she was stabbing an Orc in the chest then the next she’s on the ground without her sword. Her small hands are gripping tightly against the blade of a jagged dagger that is coming closer and closer to her face. The blade cuts into her hands causing blood to drip onto her chest.

“GET OFF!” She screams and the Orc smirks wickedly at her.

Somehow their grip on the dagger lessens and she twirls it around before stabbing the Orc right in between its eyes. Shoving the dead Orc off her, she stumbles to her feet then leaps onto the back of another Orc and stabs it in the chest with the jagged dagger. Pulling out the dagger the dead Orc falls to the ground and Blu stands on its back looking around. Every single Orc is dead, Thorin and his company are catching their breath as they look around. With a sigh of relief, Blu steps off the Orc drops the dagger and begins to look for her sword.

Thorin and his company exchange confused expressions before turning to Gandalf. He had stayed back with Bilbo who is hiding behind him looking petrified as he gazed at the dead Orcs.

“Is that? No that’s not my sword,” Blu mumbles as she walks. “I just want my sword….it is a nice sword too…shiny…light and sharp.”

“Is the lass alright?” Gloin asks. “She looks like an absolute loon.”

He was right, Blu does look utterly crazy. Bruised and bloody as she stumbles around the dead Orcs seemingly in a daze looking for  _a sword_  all while talking to herself. She lets out an ear-piercing scream as she’s pulled by her foot and falls onto her back. One of the Orcs wasn’t dead and grabbed her. Before anyone could come to her aid she snaps its neck with her elbow.

She lays on the ground panting before she let out a breathless chuckle, then she giggles…and then she full-heartedly laughs. The company exchange various looks; shock, confusion but most of them were impressed. They turn to Gandalf who is chuckling as he drew near.

“That Orc gave me such a fright!” Blu laughs while rising to her feet.

“ _That_  Orc gave you a freight? What about the others?!” Bilbo exclaims.

“They concerned me,” she shrugs then begins to search for her sword once more. “I FOUND IT!” She jumps up and down with glee and then tries to pull her sword out from under a pile of dead orcs only to yelp in pain. Looking down at her hands she pouts upon seeing the cuts on both her hands before shifting her gaze to her sword.

She tries multiple different ways to get her sword. One method is using her feet to push one of the orcs off, which she is successful at but there were still more on top of her sword. She tries shoving them with her shoulder only to slip on some blood in the dirt. She even tries getting a running start and manages to shove another Orc off but the pain from her wounds prevents her from anything else at this moment.

Thorin and his company watch her in amusement having being told by Gandalf to allow her to, as he put it ‘try it her way or rather  _ways_  first’. Once he’s s certain she was out of options and will actually receive the help  _willingly_  he gave the company a nod. Balin volunteers to assist the lass and his brother, Dwalin, is roped into helping, to which he scowls at his brother for.

Blu jumps in surprise when a hand lands on her shoulder and turns to find two of the dwarfs standing behind her. One has a long white beard and the other is bald with a tattooed head, white beard dwarf looks at her with a kind smile. “Allow us, lass,” he offers and Blu smiles with a nod before stepping to the side.

Bald tattoo dwarf grunts as he pushes against the dead Orcs causing most of them to fall off the pile before he lifts up the remaining bodies. Whitebeard dwarf bens down and removes Blu’s sword that is now exposed from the ground then bald tattoo dwarf lets go of the bodies.

“Thank you!” Blu smiles then frowns slightly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t get your names.”

“I’m Balin,” white beard dwarf says with a kind smile.

“Dwalin,” bald tattooed dwarf grunts while crossing his arms.

“Well Balin and Dwalin thank you for your assistance,” she kindly smiles at them before turning to Thorin and the rest of his company, “And thank you all as well.”

She gives a shy glance to Gandalf who is looking at her with concern, her bottom lip bleeding and a bruise is beginning to form. Her the palms are bleeding from the cuts and she’s covered in dirt and blood. Despite all that, she’s smiling but not just any smile, it’s her wide  _beaming smile_  that he has grown to adore over the years of knowing her.

“May I have my sword?” Blu turns to Balin with an outstretched hand and he begins to hand her sword to her.

“ABSOLUTELY NOT! DON’T YA DARE GIVE HER THAT SWORD!” a voice bellows, prompting Balin to retract the outstretched hand that held the sword. Blu turns wide-eyed towards the dwarf who yelled. The said dwarf is an older dwarf; holding a trumpet to his ear and he has a long grey beard that has two handlebar shaped braids in it. He marches towards her looking very displeased.

“Your wounds need to be properly cleansed and bandaged or else you’ll get an infection,” he sternly told her and she slowly nods. “Now, ya sit here while I get my pack to tend to those wounds of yours,” he guides her to a rock off to the side of the dirt path they are on before he wandered off, only to return a few moments later.  

Trumpet dwarf asks for someone to get water as he rummages through his pack. A waterskin comes into view and Blu looks upward to find Thorin to be the one offering it.

“Oin,” Thorin says rather loudly, causing Blu to cringe, but she realizes it’s because trumpet dwarf or rather ‘Oin’ is hard of hearing. Which would explain the trumpet and he has placed it on the ground. Thorin looks annoyed and Blu giggles at his expression to which he huffs but thankfully Oin acknowledges the waterskin. With a nod, Thorin releases the waterskin and walks over to Dwalin and stands beside him. Oin opens the waterskin and takes Blu’s hands before pouring water over them.

“Ouch!” she hisses and Oin apologizes but continues to pour the water until he can clearly see her wounds. The cuts are shallow and the surrounding flesh is irritated. Defiantly will need to be stitched up, but they are nowhere near as terrible as he feared them to be. Grabbing a needle and thread, he glances up at her and she nods before he begins stitching her wounds.

“Blu, why were Orcs chasing you?” Gandalf asks, walking to stand next to her and she looks up at him.

“Orcs never need a reason to be chasing someone. I stumbled upon them, they saw me and the next thing I know I’m being chased and then I was falling and landed at his feet,” Blu tilts her head in Thorin’s direction then looks at his feet. “Nice boots by the way.”

“Thank you,” Thorin says, although he is a bit taken aback by the compliment.

Blu smiles at him with a nod before turning her attention to Gandalf.

“That is true,” Gandalf says with a slight nod but he has known Blu long enough to  _know_  that isn’t the _entire_ story _._ For the time being, he chose to not push the matter any further. “Well then, where are you headed?”

“Hear, there and yonder.”

“Nowhere in particular then,” Gandalf chuckles. “As usual.”

“Right you are!”

“Since you don’t have a destination, would you do me the honor of riding with me? It has been a long time since I last saw you and I would very much like to enjoy your company once more,” Gandalf smiles fondly at Blu before giving a quick glance to Thorin who’s looking at him inquisitively.

“I shall honor you with my presence,” she says with a playful smile.

Thorin looks to his company with slightly raised brows and they are just as taken aback by this as he is. However, Gandalf did not ask her to _join_ them on their quest; he just asked for her to ride with him for a while and for that they have no reason to deny her.

“There ya are lass,” Oin announces after he finished bandaging her hands. “You’ll need to change the bandages regularly for the next week but you’ll be good as new in no time.”

“Thank you Oin,” she gave him a grateful smile with a gentle squeeze to his hand.

“You’re welcome,” Oin says with a small smile and begins to pack away his supplies.

Balin walks over and gives the sword back to her and Blu has an excited smile as she takes it from him. Despite her wounds, she twirls it in her hand for which Oin scolds her for and Blu immediately sheaths it with a guilty smile. Gandalf crouches beside her and pours some water onto his sleeve before he gently began to dab away the blood from her busted lip. Once he was done, he chuckles as she scrunched up her nose with a giggle.

Thorin announces that it was time to move on and everyone mounted their horses. Gandalf pulls Blu up onto his horse and she looks down in surprise when she felt someone else helping her. Smiling, she quietly thanks, Thorin. He had pushed her feet upwards to assist her, a gesturehe _unknowingly_ made. He gives her a quick nod before mounting his horse and then they were off.

As they ventured on they quickly learn that Blu is rather chatty and talks about  _anything_  and  _everything_. Fili and Kili rod up beside Gandalf and are listening rather intently to her. She is very animated when she speaks; waving her hands in the air and changing the tone of her voice when she gets excited. Gandalf has a smile as he listens to her speak, she sat in front of him and despite the fact that she almost whacks him in the face a few times he seems rather content with her presence.

Hours later Blu gave her sword to Gandalf before moving behind him and is now laying on her stomach like a kill over the back of the horse. Her face resting on her shoulder that is draped downward and her eyes closed. Her unruly hair flutters in wind like an array of auburn flames and periodically her nose twitches like a bunny.

“What’s the lass doing?” Dwalin exclaims when he catches sight of her.

Gandalf glances over his shoulder at Blu and chuckles. “I believe it’s called sleeping.”

“I ain’t daft! I know she’s sleeping but why is she sleeping on the back of your horse?”

“Poor lass, she must be exhausted,” Balin said as he looked at Blu, “Perhaps we should stop?”

“There is no need. As long as Blu does not fall off we can continue on our way,” Gandalf muses.

“And what pray tell do we do if she falls off?” Thorin grumbles, not liking the idea of her falling for some odd reason.

Gandalf is indifferent to Thorin’s question. “She will either wake up and get back on the horse or remain sleeping and I will put her back on the horse.” 

“Surely she wouldn’t remain asleep if she fell,” Bilbo points out.

Gandalf laughs and glances over his shoulder at Blu once more. “One would think but Blu is…well, Blu.”

“Let’s carry on then,” Thorin announces.

Watchful and curious eyes from the dwarves and the hobbit fall upon Blu as she continues to slumber. At various points, they thought she was going to fall off when she rolls onto her back but she shifts in her sleep to remain on the horse. Her shifting causes her unruly hair to twist and turn into a tangled mess and covers her face. The fact that she still manages to breathe properly with the amount of hair that covers her mouth and nose is astonishing. For it is like a tiny mountain of hair is resting on her face.

“Odd lass,” Dwalin murmurs.

Thorin nods in agreement. “Indeed.”

As the sun begins to set Blu finally wakes, with a stretch she rolls onto her stomach and her hair flops like dead weight onto her back. She lazily combs her hand through her hair and easily untangles her hair, surprising the company in the process. Turning her head towards them, she waves with an adorably sleepy smile. “Hi!”

“Hello,” the company says in unison.

“How did you meet Gandalf?” a young brunette dwarf asks and Blu turns her attention to him. “I’m Kili by the way.”

“Well Kili, I saved his life!” she proudly says and Gandalf let outs a  _loud_  snort. “Don’t deny it Gandalf! I speak the truth!”

There is a moment of complete and utter silence before Gandalf and Blu full hearty laugh. Their laughter is contagious, and despite the fact that neither of them will elaborate on how they met; Thorin and his company can’t help but laugh along with them. Blu is smiling so widely that her cheeks hurt and every time she tries to calm down, the memory of her and Gandalf’s first meeting swirls in her mind once more and she ends up laughing even harder than before. Which results in everyone laughing harder as well.

Gandalf looks over his shoulder at Blu before shifting his gaze to the company. Everyone is relaxed and happy while they laugh along with Blu, who’s clutching her stomach and shaking her head. Thorin looks to Gandalf and they share a smile before they both look at Blu, she’s so joyful and it’s oddly refreshing to have someone like her with them, even if it’s just for a while.


	2. A Chance

The moon had risen high in the sky, casting a dim light that softly illuminates the path for the traveling company. A gentle breeze flutters the tree’s branches, causing leaves sway languidly. Blu lays comfortably on her stomach across the back of Gandalf’s horse, softly humming a tune to herself as she listens to the company discuss where they should camp for the night. “If we go a bit further there a defensible location that’s hidden from the direct path and it’s right next to a stream. We could make camp there,” she suggests, rolling onto her back and looking at Thorin.

“You’ve been this way before?” Thorin inquires, annoyance laced in his voice as his pony trots up to walk beside Blu, despite his efforts to keep him away.

“Many times.” She nods with a smile, reaching her hand out to gently stroke his pony. The pony leans into her touch seemingly pleased by her attention and Blu can’t help but giggle softly. “So, what are all your names?” she asks the rest of the company, pulling her hand away from Thorin’s pony and noise of disappointment leaves the animal.

“I’m Bilbo Baggins!” The hobbit happily introduces himself, giving a brief wave to Blu who mouths ‘Hi’.

“I’m Fili,” a young blonde dwarf says, then tilts his head towards Kili. “I’m also Kili’s older brother.”

“I thought I saw some resemblance between you two,” says Blu.

“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance lassie,” a dwarf with a floppy hat and two braids says gaining Blu’s attention and gives a playful wink. “I’m Bofur.”

Blu waves at him with an amused smile which earns her another wink. “Hello, Bofur.”

A dwarf with an ax in his head says something in Ancient Khuzdul and Blu turns her attention to him. “I understood you!” she happily proclaims, earning a look of shock from the dwarves. “Though I’m afraid I cannot reply to you in Ancient Khuzdul, Bifur since I’m not able to speak it.”

Bofur points to Bifur with furrowed brows while looking directly at Blu. “Y-you understood him?”

“Yes,” Blu nods, sitting upright on the horse to look at all the shocked faces of the company. “You all seem surprised…”

“We are!” exclaims Bofur.

“Why?”

“He spoke in Ancient Khuzdul.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Ancient Khuzdul!” Bofur stresses while pointing at Bifur who rolls his eyes.

Blu looks at him amused and confused. “I am aware that he spoke in ancient Khuzdul, Bofur.”

“Ancient Khuzdul!”

Blu worriedly looks to the company and points to Bofur. “I think I broke him.”

“No, he’s just shocked is all,” Balin chuckles while shaking his head. “It’s not every day we meet someone who can understand Ancient Khuzdul.”

“Ancient Khuzdul!” Bofur proclaims again. “Ancient Khuzdul,” he whispers to himself.

“Perhaps, you did break him after all lass,” Balin says to Blu with a chuckle.

“Yes, I think I did,” Blu laughs, amused by Bofur who continues to whisper the word Ancient Khuzdul to himself.

“I’m Bombur,” a round dwarf with ginger-colored hair waves at Blu who smiles in acknowledgment.

“I’m Dori,” a grey hair dwarf with a very neat yet very tedious braided updo says. “And that’s Nor.” He points to a dwarf with hill shaped bumps in his hair. “And that’s Ori.” He points to the youngest dwarf with blunt bangs and small braids in his hair. Ori gives Blu a bashful wave and she smiles kindly at him causing the young dwarf to blush.

“Name’s Gloin,” a dwarf with rusty red hair and beard says.

“Let’s see if I got all your names; Thorn, Fili, Kili, Bofur, Bifur, Bombur, Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, Glion, Balin, and Dwalin. And Bilbo Baggins. Did I get that right?” Blu asks, eyes curious and hopeful.

“You did lass,” Balin nods with a smile, chuckling to himself as she claps happily with a soft cheer.

Blu shifts on the horse, attempting to lay on her stomach once more but somehow slips. Before anyone can react she falls off the horse and lands on her bum with a loud yelp before laughing. The company halt their ponies and look at her with amused concern. Thorin’s pony trots over to her but stops just shy of her as Thorin commands him to a halt. 

Thorin gazes down at her in annoyance, if she had just sat normally then she wouldn’t have fallen. But, he has a  _faint smile_  on his face as Blu tries to blow some of her hair out of her face only to giggle when it was in vain.

“Are you alright?” Gandalf asks Blu, turning his horse around to gaze down at her.

“Yes, the ground caught me,” she says, patting the dirt affectionately and Gandalf fondly rolls his eyes.

Blu rises to her feet and proceeds to point out where the trail to the campsite is. Gandalf turns towards the company who are all looking to Thorin for direction. Thorin’s gaze shifts from Blu to where she points to, silently wondering if he should trust her. “Lead on,” he says and Blu bounces in place with her beaming smile before proceeding down the path to the campsite.

She wasn’t jesting when she said that it off the direct path, in fact, it’s so far from the path that the company  _almost_  got lost. Since they are led through thick bushes with dense branches and then when they lost sight of Blu everyone grumbles and grouses. “Please stop your bellyaching! Just keep going straight,” they hear her say. “And mind your heads!”

“Minds our heads?” Bilbo mumbles as he guides his horse straight then yelps when a thick branch whacks him across the forehead. “There is a branch here, so heed her warning!” he calls out while rubbing his forehead.

Once they all get past the bushes and push some vines out of the way they walk into the campsite. A clearing at the bottom of a rock’s base that’s surrounded by tall thick bushes and trees. Blu walks into the middle of the clearing before turning towards the company with her arms outstretched and a proud smile on her face. “What do you think?” she asks, lowering her arms to her side.

Thorin dismounts his pony and walks into the clearing while surveying the area. With how far off of the path they are, the likely hood of them being ambushed is slim and if they are, the current location is easily defendable. “This will do.”

“There is also a stream nearby with fish,” Blu says, pointing to her right.

“Fish?” Bombur asks with hopeful eyes, “There’s fish?”

“Yes. I can show you all where, if you’d like?” She offers.

“Fili and Kili go with her. The rest of you set up camp,” Thorin orders. With a nod, Fili and Kili follow Blu who’s making her way away from camp and Thorin watches until he could no longer see them.

Fili and Kili trail behind Blu as she led them to the stream which was terribly far from camp. “Watch your step,” she warns as she steps over something on the ground but only Kili hears her.

“Ah!” Fili groans as he steps in something  _squishy_. Blu and Kili whirl around and struggle to contain their laughter. He lifts his foot into the air with a disgusted expression and looks to Blu for answers. “What did I just step in?”

“Probably poo,” she says with a giggle and Kili snickers. “I did warn you.”

“That she did brother,” Kili teases, muffling his laughter behind a closed fist.

“Yes, well next time please give a warning sooner,” Fili says, wiping the bottom of his boot against a rock. “I don’t fancy poo on my boots.”

“I shall try my best,” Blu muses and turns around to push a tree branch out of her way. “And here we are!”

The trio walks past the tree branch and gazes at the stream, two waterfalls on opposite sides of the stream fill it with clear blue water. Fili and Kili looked at each other before walking over the side of the stream while Blu perches herself on top of a rock off to the side. Happily humming to herself and swaying while watching the brothers get some netting out of their packs.

“What type of fish are here?” Fili asks Blu while digging through his pack.

“I don’t know,” Blu shrugs and the brothers looked at her with furrowed brows. “But I know its fish!”

“How do you not know what type of fish are in the stream?” Kili asks. “Haven’t you been here before?”

“I have been here many times but I never fish,” she says. “Truthfully I’m not very good at fishing, hence why I don’t.”

“Oh,” Kili says and Fili nods. “Would you like to learn?”

Blu shakes her head causing some of her unruly curls to fall in front of her face. “Not right now, thank you but maybe some other time?” she asks, pushing her hair away from her face only to have more curls fall in front of her face from the opposite side of her head.

“Sure,” Kili smiles at her before resuming rummaging through his pack.

As the brothers gather nets to fish with, Blu notices that her hair is filthy and frowns to herself before getting an idea. She rises from her before cheerfully skipping towards the opposite side of the stream. Fili squats and places his hand into the water, wiggling his fingers to gauge the temperature. It isn’t overly warm as it feels a tad colder than he personally would like, but there are a plethora fish swimming about. Removing his hand, he briefly shakes it to rid himself of any excess water before grabbing his net. With a firm grip on a part of the net, he casts it into the water and begins fishing.

This is by far the easiest fishing trip that both brothers have done and within minutes their nets are full. Hauling the nets out of the water, they tie them off then turn to where Blu sat only to share a look of confusion. For Blu is no longer sitting on the rock near them and they turn their heads in various directions in search of her. Kili is the first to spot her and taps his brother’s shoulder before pointing to the opposite side of the stream. Fili looks in the direction that his brother points and furrows his brows at what he sees.

“Uh, Blu?” Kili calls and Blu turns her attention to him. “What are you doing?”

“Rinsing my hair,” she casually says, running her fingers through her hair then holds it away from her head to inspect if she removed all the dirt. “Nope, missed a spot,” she mumbles to herself then resumes rinsing her hair.

It’s obvious that she’s rinsing her hair, but the way she is going about it is rather odd. For she is laying on her back on top of a stone, her head rests on the edge and her hair cascades down into the waterfall below her. She runs her hands through hair, scrubbing here and there every so often.

“Why don’t you get underneath the waterfall instead?” suggests Fili, gesturing to the waterfall with questioning expression.

Blu is taken aback by the suggestion. “Cause that’s cold!” she exclaims and rolls onto her stomach. Shuffling forward, she hangs her head off the side of the rock and shakes her head as her hair gets drenched by the water. Lifting her head she briefly shakes it then smiles widely at the brothers through her curtain of hair, they can just barely see her smile but her joyful eyes shine brightly behind her hair. Whipping her hair behind her back, she stands and jumps off the rock, landing with a joyful laugh that causes the brothers to chuckle softly.

“Do you need me to take anything?” Blu asks, walking to stand in front of the brothers who shake their heads.

“No we got it,” says Kili as he and Fili tie off their nets. “Thank you though.”

The trio makes their way back to camp and is met with excited faces of the company upon seeing the amount of fish in the netting. Gandalf notices the fact that Blu’s hair is dripping water, despite her efforts to dry it. He also notices that the brothers are bone dry and smiles to himself before stopping Blu. “Did they push you into the stream?” he jests.

Oin, who had been walking by overhead Gandalf and gave Blu a once-over with his eyes before looking at Fili and Kili. Scowling, he approaches them and they give him questioning expressions upon seeing him. “Pushing a lass into water is unacceptable and you two should be ashamed of yourselves!”

Fili and Kili’s eyes just about bug out of their heads while their mouths hang open in shock. Blu throws her head back laughing and grabs onto Gandalf’s arm to keep herself upright. The brothers look to her with a pleading expression, hoping that she will save them the old healer’s unwarranted and misplaced wrath. It takes her a moment to calm down and after catching her breath she looks to Oin with a smile. “They didn’t push me Oin, I just rinsed my hair.” She grabs a section of her hair to prove her point and Oin’s eyes drift to her unraveling bandages

“Your bandages are almost falling off,” Oin says, looking at her hands disapprovingly.

“Hum?” Blu looks at Oin for a moment, not understanding why he looks displeased with her before he gestures to her hands. Raising her hands in front of her face, she sees her bandages are unraveling. “Oh, look at that!” She then looks at Oin and gives him a cheesy grin. “Was I not supposed to put my hands in water?” he nods and she sheepishly giggles. “Sorry!”

Oin shook his head before motioning for Blu to follow him to his spot in camp. Sitting in front of him she held her hands out towards him and he began to tend to her wounds,  _again_. Which really was just give her new bandages but that was beside the point. He proceeds to lecture her about  _why_  it was important that her bandages remain dry and clean but Blu isn’t really listening.

“Are ya listening to me?” Oin asks, glancing up at Blu who’s tilting her head from side to side as she gazes at his trumpet that lays on the ground between them. Oin looks to Gandalf for an explanation as to  _what_  she is doing and Gandalf gestures to the trumpet that lays on the ground. Oin looks at his trumpet and notices the  _faint_  reflection of the stars on it. It would seem that Blu is captivated the reflection and he finds rather adorable of her. Tying off her new bandage, he clears his throat and her attention shifts to his face. “Now don’t go putting your hands in water, ya hear?” he sternly says.

Blu nods her head with her beaming smile as she tucks a strand of hair behind her right ear. “I won’t. Thank you, Oin!”

Oin rises to his feet and offers his hand to Blu, who happily takes it and he helps her to her feet. She dusted off her dress before her attention shifted to Bombur, who is busy preparing the fish for supper. Curiously, she makes her way to him and sits beside him which earns her a look of surprise. Bombur is stunned by her presence and with a dead fish held in his hand, he looks at Blu with wide, unsure eyes.

Sensing Bombur’s nervousness, Blu gives him a kind smile. “What are you going to do with the fish?”

“Uh…cook it?”

“I know that,” she laughs and Bombur chuckles. “How are you going to cook them, is what I meant.”

Bombur’s eyes lit up upon hearing that and he begins to enthusiastically explain to Blu what he is going to cook. She gives him her undivided attention while he spoke but turns away when he began to gut the fish. That wasn’t something she wants to witness and Bombur laughs at the face she made when she glances back only to immediately look away upon seeing the gutted fish. She even goes as far as to cover her face, the sleeves of her dress completely cover her hands and she squeals softly into the fabric.

Gandalf calls her name and Blu lowers her hands to peak over the fabric, blinking curiously at him. He inclines his head to the left, she looks to his left and an excited squeal left her lips. She scrambles to her feet but pauses for a moment and turns to Bombur. “Excuse me Bombur,” she says and he nods with a chuckle, watching as she skips her way to Gandalf’s side then disappears into a bush. A few minutes later, she crawls out of the bush but stops halfway as nice pair boots stop in front of her.

Thorin hears some sort of noise from behind him and turns around looking for the source only find nothing. Strange, he could have sworn he heard something and slowly begins to turn around only to snap his attention to the ground behind upon hearing the noise again. He’s slightly taken aback by Blu who is on fours before him and halfway out a bush. She lifts her head, damp hair resting softly on her cheeks and he lets out a soft chuckle. For her cheeks are puffed out like a squirrel who’s mouth is filled with food. “Mhmphal!” she says through her closed mouth.

“What?” he asks, furrowing his brows as he wonders what she is trying to convey.

“Mhmphal!” she repeats and raises her right hand that’s closed into a fist. Her gaze shifts from him to her fist repeatedly as if he’s meant to understand why she’s raising her fist to him. She huffs and shakes her head before looking at him expectedly.

Thorin gazes down at Blu with the utmost confusion and she continues to stare at him expectedly. What on earth does she want from him? With a sigh, he looks to the ground and instantly knows what she wants from him. Without a word, he swiftly steps off the edge of her sleeve before looking to her once more. Her mouth stretches into a close-lipped smile and she makes a joyful sound while scrunching up her nose she gazes up at him. She looks positively hilariously and he can’t help but smile as he gazes down at her. She nods a thank you before crawling past him and towards the rest of the company, leaving behind an amused yet confused Thorin.

The company all move out of Blu’s way as she crawls past them, finding the fact that she’s  _crawling_  to be rather  _odd_  but don’t make a fuss over it. She heads straight towards Gandalf, who is sitting near the fire. He fondly shakes his head upon seeing her crawl towards him since some things never change. She sits beside him and after getting comfortable, she opens her fists to let berries fall onto her lap. Eating what berries she had in her mouth, she picks up one from her lap and offers it Gandalf who politely declines the offer. Considering they will be eating fish, he doesn’t want the lingering taste berries with fish. To him, that doesn’t sound very appetizing.

Blu sits happily in her own little world as she nibbles on berries, chatting with Gandalf every now again. The two laugh at something she says and Gandalf takes off his hat then places it on her head, it falls to cover her eyes and she tilts her head up towards him with a pout. As the company catch sight of this moment, they found their relationship to be endearing. As it reminded them of a father and daughter but it’s obvious that they are not related.

Blu adjusts the hat to uncover her eyes and Gandalf chuckles while looking fondly at her. “Now I’m Gandalf the Grey!” she proudly proclaims.

“Is that so?” he glances at the company, who are watching them with amused expressions,  _even Thorin_.

“Yes!” she nods then groans when her eyes are covered once more. “Well, this is annoying,” she giggles and sets the hat to sit lopsided on her head. “Much better!”

“You are not going to give me my hat back anytime soon are you?”

“Nope,” Blu shakes her head with her signature smile. “May I keep it until morning?”

“Of course.”

Blu’s gaze slowly shifts to a very displeased Oin who comes to before her and instantly she places her hands behind her back. “Hi!” she cheerfully greets him.

He crosses his arms while shaking his head disapprovingly. “Your bandages, lass.”

“You said I couldn’t put them in water!” she playfully defends. “Not that I couldn’t pick berries!”

Oin looks to Gandalf who merely shrugs before he looks to Blu once more. “Are they falling off?”

“Nope!” She shows him her hands and though the bandages are filthy, they are still intact. “See?”

Oin simply hums in acknowledgment and points a finger at her sternly before walking away. Blu giggles to herself at the old healer’s antics and reaches for a berry but feels none. With a soft pout, she gazes down at her lap before looking up at a rather shy Ori. “Hi Ori!” she softly greets him with a smile.

Ori holds a bowl out to Blu with a bashful smile. “Bombur said you were to be given the first bowl.”

“Oh! Okay.” She holds her hands out and takes the bowl. “Thank you for bringing it to me.”

Ori’s cheeks turn red due to Blu’s smile and captivating eyes. “You’re welcome,” he says before walking away to get his own bowl.

“Do you want any?” Blu turns to Gandalf and gestures her bowl to him. With a smile, Gandalf shakes his head. “If you change your mind, just let me know but I can’t guarantee there will be leftovers.”

“I shall let you know,” Gandalf says, standing up in order to get his own bowl of supper. “I’ll return shortly.”

“I MISS YOU ALREADY!” Blu calls out as he walks away and Gandalf chuckles at her antics. “I’M SO LONELY WITHOUT YOU! COME BACK!”

With a bowl of supper in his hand, Gandalf makes his way back to Blu and sits beside her. Adjusting his scarf, he reaches for his spoon but finds that she’s taken it. She’s leaning over his bowl, poking and stirring the food around with a hilariously quizzical expression. “What are you doing?”

Blu looks up at him, head tilted slightly to the side to ensure the hat doesn’t fall off her head. “Checking for eyeballs,” she says matter of factly.

Gandalf turns his head to the side as he tries to conceal his laughter, though a few joyful snickers escape him. She continues to inspect his food, unfazed by her dear friend’s laughter and after ensuring that no fish eyes linger in his food, she puts his spoon back into the bowl. “Your food has no eyeballs. You can now eat safely!” she proudly says.

“Thank you, Blu,” Gandalf says, through his joyful snickering.

Fili and Kili sit opposite of Blu and Gandalf, watching their interactions curiously. They find Blu’s overall personality to be a bit eccentric and unique. Kili leans into his brother and turns his head slightly towards him. “Do you think she’s a bit touched?” he asks, gesturing briefly to his head.

Fili nods. “It’s possible.”

Blu is the first to finish eating, much to the company’s surprise. After giving her bowl to Bombur, she wanders off into the night. Uneasy glances are shared by some of the dwarves but the hobbit voices his concern. “Someone should go after her, it not safe.”

“That is not necessary,” Gandalf says, pulling out his pipe that he begins to clean. “Blu will be fine.”

“What if something happens to her?”

“Do not fret, Master Baggins. We will know if something happens to her, however, nothing will.”

Bilbo looks at Gandalf warily. “How can you be certain?”

“Because I have known Blu for a long time.”

“How long have you known her?”

“A long time,” he muses, smiling fondly at the memory of little Blu’s wide green eyes staring up at him. “I met her when she was very young, barely able to walk in fact”

“How did you meet her?” asks Bilbo, hoping to hear the tale that caused the old grey wizard’s smile.

“I’ll leave that story for her to tell,” Gandalf joyfully laughs. “She loves to tell that tale and I do enjoy hearing  _her side_  of it.”

“How long will she be riding with you?” Thorin asks as he takes a seat next Fili and Kili.

“Who knows,” Gandalf shrugs and Thorin raises a brow. “Blu does what she wants. There is  _no stopping_  her when she’s made up her mind. We could wake in the morning and she could be gone or even be walking along only to turn and not find her. She will leave when she wants but we may run into her again.”

“Will she at least say goodbye?” Bilbo asks.

“No, she won’t,” Gandalf says, though there is a hint of sadness in his tone before he smiles. “However, with Blu, it is  _never_ goodbye it’s always _I’ll see you later_.”

Hours pass and Blu didn’t return, which some found odd and but due what Gandalf had said, it seems that her disappearing is a common occurrence. Thorin is the first on watch while everyone else turns in for the night. The camp is generally quite aside from the occasional snore and Thorin finds himself watching the flickering flames cast dancing shadows on the ground. A rustling from the ponies has him rising to his feet and investigating.

What he finds causes him to stand in bewilderment as Blu lays fast asleep curled up against his pony. Thorin’s pony is curled around her as if she’s its young and their eyes open to look at him, staring at him for a moment before closing them. Gandalf’s hat lays beside them and Blu stirs in her sleep, burying her face into the pony’s chest as she throws her arm around it. Thorin’s gaze shifts around camp before casting a final glance at Blu and walks back to his spot.  

The night pasts uneventfully and in the morning Gandalf is surprised to find Blu is still with them. She sits on a rock near the now dwindling fire chatting to Bifur and Bofur. Well, Bofur is flirting with her rather than talking, much to her and Bifur’s amusement. She keeps laughing but it wasn’t because of Bofur, it was because of the comments Bifur kept making about Bofur.

Thorin sits beside Dwalin and Balin while watching Blu interact with everyone else. There is something about her that intrigues him but he’s unsure what it is. She glances at him with a smile and he gives her a small smile. Her attention shifts to Gandalf who casually takes his hat back as he walks past.

“If you all will excuse me,” Blu says as she rose to her feet. “I’ll be right back.” She looks to Gandalf as and he nodded with a smile. While humming to herself, she turns and disappears from view.

“She’s surprisingly bonny for whatever she is,” Bofur muses and he receives slow absentminded nods from everyone but Gandalf who is cleaning his pipe.

“What is she exactly?” asks Bilbo.

“She’s a dwarf,” Dwalin grumbles as eats his breakfast.

Blain shook his head. “No, she’s human.”

“She’s an elf,” Kili says and everyone looks to him. “What? Didn’t you see the slight point to her ears and her lack of facial hair? Just like an elf!”

“That does not make her an elf,” Thorin seethes and Kili shrinks into himself as he had forgotten his uncle’s  _disdain_  for elves.

“On the contrary Thorin it does – well partially that is,” Gandalf says. 

Thorin looks at him with narrowed eyes. “What are you implying?”

“Blu is mainly dwarf and human but she does have elf in her.”

“See? I told you, elf!” Kili exclaims but silences himself when Thorin glares at him.

“Thorin, do not hold your disdain for elves against Blu who has done you no wrong,” Gandalf calmly says. “Give her a chance, she’s one the kindest souls you will ever meet.”

Thorin is silent as he looks at Gandalf, refusing to speak further on the matter.

“A  _chance_  is all I ask.”

Blu then comes waltzing into camp, nibbling on berries that she holds in her right hand. She stops in her tracks and tilts her head to the side before slowly lifting her gaze upwards.

“Blu?” Gandalf asks with a slightly concerned expression. “What is it?”

“Bifur, why are you climbing up a tree?” she asks and the company furrows their brows before looking for the said dwarf who is no longer sitting next to Bofur.

“Oi! Get down before ya hurt yourself!” Bofur bellows as he rushed to Blu’s side and looked up at Bifur.

Bifur proclaims something while shaking his fist and Blu begins to laugh while Gandalf chuckles.

“What did he say?” Bofur asks, having not understood his cousin as he spoke to quickly.

“I’m not repeating that!” Blu shakes her head while laughing. “Maybe Gandalf will tell you.”

“I will not be repeating what he said,” Gandalf muses.

Bombur came to Bofur’s side and the two begin to try and coax Bifur out of the tree. They are thankful that Thorin is still eating as they feared had he not been, then he would order everyone to move out. 

Blu sat down next to Thorin who tenses the moment she does but made no effort to move. She turns to him and watches him, prompting him to glance her way with a raised brow. “Yes?”

“You have something in your beard,” she points to his chin while leaning toward his face. “I think it might be fish.”

Thorin is silent as he raises his hand to his beard touching it lightly before wiping away the said fish. He turns his head towards Blu and she nods with a smile. He gives her a curt nod before turning his attention to Bofur and Bombur.

“Do you want one?” Blu asks and Thorin turns to her with a confused expression. “A berry,” she clarifies and holds one out towards him.

“No,” Thorin shakes his head. “Thank you,” he says and Blu smiles then continues to eat the berries.

She offers some berries to everyone else but only Bilbo and Gandalf take one. She remains by Thorin’s side while he eats and though he was uncomfortable with her presence at first, he now finds it to be oddly comforting. She makes no attempts at small talk with him instead talks to Bilbo.

“Blu!” Bofur calls and she turns her attention to him. “He refuses to come down and keeps pointing to you!” he exclaims and gestures towards Bifur.

Blu rises to her feet and walks to stand in front of the tree Bifur is in. She listens as Bifur speaks to her and nods. “Of course you can have some berries!” she giggles. “If you get down I’ll show you where I got them,” she offers and Bifur scurries his way down the tree.

“Dori,” Blu calls to him and Dori turns his attention to her. “I noticed you enjoy tea. The bush that has the berries also has lovely leaves for tea, if you’re interested.”

“Yes of course!” Dori happily exclaims, surprised that she had noticed him brewing tea for breakfast and rushed to Blu’s side. “Thank you!”

The three leave camp only to returns minutes later. Blu has more berries and Bifur has some as well while Dori has his arms full of leaves. Apparently, the leaves are used for various types of teas and Dori is over the moon about it. After everyone has eaten and packed they all set out once more. Only this time Blu chooses to walk instead of riding with Gandalf but remains near the company. She sways and twirls her way around them, her hair flies into the air with every movement she makes.

Something in the distance catches Blu’s interest and in the blink of an eye, she dashes off with her infectious laugh. Thorin struggles to keep his pony from going after her and after a minute or two, the pony reluctantly stays. It watches Blu’s disappearing figure with sadness and Thorin gently strokes its head in efforts to sooth it. It works to an extent as the pony leans into his touch and then neighs happily upon seeing Blu waiting for them in the distance.


	3. Vanished

Blu and Fili run as fast as their legs can carry them, chests heaving rapidly, and constantly looking over their shoulders only to increase their speed. The sound of rapidly approaching footsteps fills the air, as the cold wind whips against their heated flesh. They run side by side as they navigate their way through the forest.

“This is your fault!” Blu exclaims, glancing briefly at Fili before ducking under a broken tree branch. “I blame you!”

“ _Me?_ ” he scoffs, ducking under the same branch and continues to run beside her, though it’s becoming increasingly difficult to match her speed. “You’re the one who started this!”

“What?” She jumps effortlessly and gracefully over a tree root, squinting her eyes as her hair slaps against her forehead. “No, I’m not!” Untying the Ivory ribbon from her belt, she haphazardly ties her hair into a low ponytail. Taking just the briefest moment to ensure the ribbon is snug around her hair before tying it into a bow.

Fili huffs, hurriedly climbing onto a rock in order to leap over the same tree root in a less the graceful manner. Silently wondering how she had made jumping over that tree root look effortless, as it was taller than both of them. He lands with a harsh thud, boots slightly sinking into the dampened dirt before he runs after Blu. “Yes, you are!”

“Nope!”

“Yes, you are Blu!

She shakes her head, glancing over her shoulder at him. “Lies! Lies and slander!”

Fili rolls his eyes and glances over his shoulder, eyes widening and pushes himself to run faster. “He’s gaining on us!”

“Then run faster!”

“I’m running as fast as I can!” Fili huffs a wheeze, lungs burning slightly under the strain and leg muscles throbbing.

Playfully Blu waves a hand in the air as she runs. “It was nice knowing you then, Fili!”

“BLU!” Fili laughs, struggling to keep up with her. “You’re going to leave me?”

“Maybe?” She glances over her shoulder and smiles. “Keep up! We’re almost there.”

The company is currently taking a short rest and a  _rare,_  peaceful silence emanated from them as they all either stretched, stood or sat whilst they waited for the trio. Fili, Kili, and Blu had wandered off to who knows where but where expected to return any minute. The sound of faint laughter is heard and everyone turns in various direction for the source of it and as the laughter grows louder Gandalf knows instantly to whom the laughter belonged to.

Blu comes into view as she bursts through a bush with Fili following after her a minute later. A second later, Kili bursts through the bush and is covered from head to toe in  _mud_  while vowing vengeance. “I’ll get you for this!”

“I’d like to see you try!” Blu taunts, glancing over her shoulder and playfully sticks her tongue out.

Blu and Fili separate once they reach the company, he runs off to the left while she runs off to the right. Kili runs after his brother allowing Blu a moment to catch her breath. She laughs at Fili who is shuffling from side to side trying to get away for his little brother. “I’m your  _brother_  Ki! Seek your revenge on Blu!”

“You are absolutely right Fi,” Kili muses and slowly turns towards Blu, “ _She_ was the one who  _pushed_ me into the mud.”

“Exactly!” Fili says, looking at Blu with a smirk. “I will even help you get her!”

“What?” Blu looks wide-eyed at Fili, slowly walking backwards to Gandalf who stands behind her. “Fili you traitor!”

The brothers charge towards her and she squeaks as she twirls around, running to hide behind Gandalf. The grey wizard chuckles as he watches the brothers run around him in efforts to catch Blu but she’s too quick for them. She easily outmaneuvers them when they draw near, by ducking and spinning out of their reach. Fili and Kili huff in amused annoyance and share a quick glance with each other then split up in efforts to catch Blu. They both run at her from opposite directions and she whips her head from side to side before swiftly diving to the earth. Which nearly causes Fili and Kili to collide with each other as they skid to a stop.

Laughing, Blu scrambles to her feet and runs away with the brothers hot on her trail. She can think of only two dwarfs whom Fili and Kili won’t run around in efforts to seek their revenge. The only problem is that she hasn’t really formed much of a relationship with either of them since they both seem to be not overly fond of her. Well, no time like the present to try and strike up a friendship and she dashes toward one of those dwarves.

Thorin stands by his horse, Minty, ensuring that everyone is accounted for and turns his attention to Blu who is running towards him. He pays her no mind at first, figuring she’ll run right past him but when she doesn’t, he looks at her in bewilderment when she draws near. She skids to a halt in front of him, her skidding creates small puffs of dirt that float over her boots. She whips her head to the side before laughing as she grips his arm, and he tenses as she spins around to hide behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he raises a questioning brow as she appears to be cowering behind him.

Kili and Fili come to an abrupt halt in front of Thorin, their eyes wide with uncertainty as their Uncle slowly shifts his gaze to them. They gulp at the hardened and annoyed expression that he gives them before their gaze shifts to his right arm, surprised to find Blu’s hand clutching his bicep. They glance at each other before looking to Thorin once more. Kili elbows Fili and inclines his head towards their not too pleased Uncle.

“Uncle,” Fili nervous says with a stiff nod while Kili shuffles in place.

“ _Uncle?!_ ” Blu leans around Thorin side and looks up at him shocked. “You’re related to them?” she releases his arm and points to his nephews. “I don’t see it.”

Thorin sighs heavily and looks at Blu with minor annoyance. “Really?”

“Yes really, I do not see any resemblance,” she says, tilting her head to the side and tapping her forefinger against her lips as she glances repeatedly between Thorin and his nephews. Now that she takes a closer look at the three of them, there  _some_  resemblance. Their height, build, and jawline are similar and while Kili has brown eyes, Thorin and Fili have blue. But Thorin’s eyes are a slightly deeper hue of blue.

Thorin rolls his eyes, annoyed by the fact that they are wasting time but remains in place. He looks to Blu, hoping to convey his annoyance with his expression but she isn’t fazed by it. He notices that her cheeks are slightly rosy from running and her hair has been haphazardly pulled into a low ponytail. Though, she’s missed quite a few pieces of hair as various pieces lay beneath and above the ribbon. A few unruly curls flutter softly against her cheeks in the soft breeze. She tilts her head to the right and the sunlight hits her face, causing the gold within her pale green eyes to glow with a rich golden hue. Thorin’s expression softens, brows unknitting and mouth turning upwards ever so slightly as he gazes into her eyes.

“Oh! Yes, I can see it now!” Blu happily exclaims and shifts her gaze from Thorin to his nephews. “I see some resemblance,” she nods.

Fili and Kili chuckle at Blu who adorns a proud expression while looking at them. They look at their uncle with slightly raised brows as do the rest of the company. For Thorin still has a soft smile as he gazes down at Blu and seems to be unaware that he is doing so.

“You cannot get your revenge now,” Blu sasses to Fili and Kili.

Fili chuckles. “Is that so?”

“Why is that?” Kili asks with a grin.

“Because of your uncle,” Blu points to Thorin who chuckles.

“You believe I will save you from my nephews?” Thorin asks.

Blu looks up at him applauded. “That was my hope.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, I needed someone to hide behind and it was between you and Dwalin,” Blu says and Thorin looks at her curiously. “And I chose you because you are not as intimidating as him,” she points to Dwalin who discreetly puffs out his chest with a smirk.

“I am intimidating!” Thorin protests, his soft smile morphing into a frown.

“No,” Blu shakes her head. “Not really.”

Thorin he leans his face towards Blu’s, staring intently into her eyes. “I. Am. Very. Intimidating.”

The company all watch with bated breath while Gandalf suppresses a smirk. Blu is merely jesting with Thorin but it would seem that everyone is unaware of that. His gaze wonders across the company and sees the concern that everyone has for Blu, surprisingly enough. He’s not worried about her in the slightest and sits upon a rock before pulling out his pipe.

Blu eyes bore into Thorin’s, utterly unfazed by his glare and slowly her mouth turns up into a playful smile. “I’m just joking with you!” she giggles. “You are very,  _very_ intimidating. Don’t be angry.”

Thorin’s expression morphs into exasperation and he sighs heavily while Blu laughs happily. “You just made my point!” she triumphantly says.

“What point would that be?” Thorin asks in annoyance.

“That your nephews cannot seek their revenge on me. Since I am standing behind you,” she pokes his forearm, “Their terrifying Uncle.”

At first, Thorin thought Blu was joking with him again but the way she said  _terrifying_  seemed genuine. Which saddened him in some way, he slowly shifts his gaze to his nephews who are looking at him with uncertainty. “Leave her be.”

Kili’s jaw drops while Fili blinks multiple times in a row. “But Uncle, she pushed me into the mud!” Kili gestures to himself.

“You probably did something to provoke her.”

“I did nothing of the sort!” Kili exclaims and looks to his brother, “Fili tell him!”

“You were threating to push her in,” Fili says while rubbing the back of his neck.

“A little mud is good for you, it smooths the skin. You’ll be like wee baby’s bum,” Blu giggles and hides her face behind Thorin’s arm.

Gandalf chokes on a puff of smoke as he laughs, sputters of smoke drift past his lips and he shakes his head. Fili covers his mouth with a closed fist while the company struggles to conceal their laughter. And, although Thorin did find Blu’s comment funny, he keeps his face neutral. Kili completely disregards what his Uncle said rushes towards Blu. 

She squeaks before laughing and runs off with Kili right behind her. The two participate in a game of chase while the company watches them with amused expressions. They run around the company, Blu bobbing and weaving in efforts to evade Kili. Somehow, Kili manages to corner her and frantically she looks around while panting for breath, hoping to find a means of escape but there are none.

“This is extremely unfair,” she says, walking backwards. “How am I meant to defend myself or get away with you corning me?”

“That is the point Blu,” Kili walks slowly towards her. The mud that covers him has dried into the clumps of dirt and he shakes his arms to rid himself of some. “You are not meant to get away.”

“It was all in good fun,” she smiles while pointing both her forefingers at him. “Smooth skin is a good thing! Keeps one looking youthful, you’ll thank me when you’re older!”

Kili’s eyes narrow as he gazes at Blu, fighting a smile and his mouth twitched with the effort. A mischievous smile graces her face and she ducks before twirling out of the way when he lunges for her. He stumbles before turning around to face her and she sticks her tongue out at him. He lunges for her once more but she easily evades him with a joyful laugh. She bounces on her feet as he turns to face her again and repeatedly he lunges for her, only to have her evade him every time. She takes off running and he runs after her.

“You win!” Kili announces, waving a hand in the air while breathing heavily. He slows to a jog and Blu skids to a halt before turning around to face him. “Truce?”

She nods. “Truce.”

“Let’s move out!” Announces Thorin and the company scramble to their horses. Thorin secures his belongs on his horse and turns his head to Blu as she makes her way to Gandalf’s horse. He watches as she comes to stand in front of the horse and the horse nudes its head against her cheek. She smiles widely, appreciating the gesture and raises her hand to gently stroke its face. There such a gentleness about her and he can’t help but smile softly as he watches her. Patting his horse, he turns and makes his way over to Blu. “Do you need assistance?” he asks and she turns to him with slight confusion. “Getting onto Gandalf’s horse,” he clarifies.

“Oh,” she smiles, her nose scrunching up slightly in the process. “No thank you, I’m going to walk for a bit.”

Thorin nods with a faint smile before returning to his horse but turns to say something to Blu. His burrows furrow and he turns his head in all directions as he eyes scan the direct vicinity. “Gandalf,” he calls and Gandalf turns to him. “Where is Blu?”

“She is right-” Gandalf looks to where Blu was standing just moments ago. “-Oh…” he smiles sadly, “She must have left.”

“But, she was just there,” Bilbo points to where Blu stood with a confused expression. “She couldn’t have just vanished…could she?”

“It always seems that she just vanishes,” Gandalf muses but there is a sadness about him as he speaks. “As I said before, Blu will leave when she wants to but we may see her again.”

“I hope we do,” Bilbo says. “I’ll miss her company.”

“As will I, Master Baggins.”

Thorin mounts his horse and the company sets off but as he passes where Blu was last seen he notices that there weren’t any footprints the led away from where she stood. He pauses for just a moment to search for her but she seems to have just vanished into thin air. Sighing he pushes forward and an  _odd_ sense of emptiness that begins to dwell within him. 

Where on earth could she have gone? And, why did no one see her leave? It both baffled and annoyed him that she just vanished, for  _he_  should have seen or heard her leave.

The day seems to drag on and everyone is experiencing the same sense of emptiness that Thorin has for Blu. She was always laughing or talking to someone, so not hearing her voice or laugh was oddly difficult to adjust to. They had grown accustomed to her presence amongst them, completely forgetting that she may leave at any given time. Strange as it was, she had unknowingly managed to make herself an unofficial member of the company.  

Night came and after finding a defensible area, they broke to make camp for the night. After the fire had been made, Bombur got supper ready. The night offers no sound, the flickering of the fire and the boiling of the stew are nearly silent and conversation is scarce. Bombur gathers the bowls for supper, laying them down next to the pot and fills them with stew. Even making a bowl of stew for Blu before he remembers and dumps the stew back in the pot with a frown.

After collecting his bowl, Bilbo made his way to Gandalf and sits beside him. He shuffles into a comfortable position and begins to eat. The forlorn company eats in almost complete silence and Bilbo turns his head to Gandalf. “Does it always feel like this when she leaves?”

The hobbit’s question gains the dwarves’ attention, though they do not turn their heads towards him and simply listen.

Gandalf nods and stirs his soup.  “I’m afraid so. I feel it too, perhaps more so than the rest of you.”

Bilbo leans closer to Gandalf, turning his face away from the company. “Do you think she’s safe?” he whispers and looks up at him.

“Yes Master Baggins, I do believe Blu is quite safe, wherever she is.”  

Days pass and while the sense of emptiness due to Blu’s absence is still present, it did ease. A sense of normality among the company slowly began to establish itself. They trekked on with high hopes of making it through the forest they are currently traveling within the week. The early morning sun shines brightly in the sky and rays of light beam through the trees. Creating a warmth for the traveling company that is greatly appreciated.

All the horses begin to fidget but not in a stressful manner, it’s almost like they are  _excited_  about something. The horses cease their movement and instead became rooted in their spots while disobeying their riders’ urging to move forward.

A figure practically flies past Fili and Kili who are at the far back of the trail of horses, both exclaiming in surprise when catching a glimpse of the figure. The figure moves through the company, bobbing and weaving its way past the horses that are going crazy with excitement. Thorin struggles to control Minty. As she is attempting to turn around, fighting against the reins while huffing and begins to try to buck him off, which confuses Thorin, as she’s  _never_  acted this way before.

“Minty!” Blu happily exclaims, sliding underneath Thorin’s horse, who instantly calms upon hearing her. “Hi, girl!” Blu stumbles to her feet in front of Minty and gently strokes the horse’s face before giving her a kiss on her snout. “How are you? You been a good girl? Yeah? That’s good! You’re a good girl!”

Something behind Thorin catches Blu’s attention and she lets out a squeak before spinning around and taking off like an arrow ahead of them. Minty whines and huffs in disappointment, attempting to follow Blu but Thorin stops her with a firm tug on the reins.

“Hi, Gandalf!” Blu waves as she passes his horse. “Bye Gandalf!”

“Blu?” Gandalf calls, slightly worried.

“I can’t stop, I’m winning!” yells Blu as she gets further away from the traveling company.

“Winning what?”

“The race!”

“Who are you racing?” yells Bilbo, guiding his horse to ride beside Gandalf at the front of the company.

“Them!” Blu yells and without slowing down or turning around points to the sky behind her head with her forefingers.

A flock of birds soars over the company’s heads and they lean their bodies towards the horses in response to the close proximity of the birds. Feathers graze the tops of their heads and horses neigh as birds fly past them. Blu’s infectious and joyful laughter carries through the air and after the last bird soars past, everyone’s gaze shifts to Blu’s disappearing form.

“She’s racing  _birds_?” Kili asks, brows furrowed and lips parted in confusion as he looks to Gandalf for answers.

Gandalf’s shoulders rise towards his ears in a brief shrug. “It would appear so…” he trails off while shaking his head and clears his throat as the company looks to him for an explanation. “She’s Blu.”

An hour or two passes and despite the fact that they’ve been riding in the direction Blu went, there has been no sign of her. A tad bit concerning for Gandalf but not unusual. Sooner or later, they will cross paths with her once again. The ponies begin to fidget in excitement, much like they did hours earlier when Blu appeared. Everyone looks around and a few feet ahead of them, leaning against a tree is none other than Blu. Who appears to be out of breath as her chest heaves rapidly and she’s bent over with her hands on her knees. A breathy laugh drifts past her lips as she stands upright and turns her attention to the approaching company. “I won!” she proudly says.

Curiously, the company search the sky for the flock of birds that she had been “racing” but they are nowhere to be seen.

“Where are the birds?” asks Bilbo as he looks around.

“Winning the next race,” replies Blu, shaking her head and a few  _leaves_  float to the ground.

Gandalf raises a brow as he looks down at Blu, observing leaves that linger in her hair, the front of her dress mildly dirty and the tip of her nose is slightly red due to a small scratch. “Did you run into the tree?”

Blu gives a jolt, hands freezing in her hair as her gaze focuses on Gandalf. “What? Psht!  _No!_  I gave the tree a full speed hug,” she casually replies with raised brows.

Gandalf chuckles. “You ran into it.”

“Full speed hug! There is a difference Gandalf.”

“If you say so.”

“ _Difference_ ,” she says with a smile and shakes her hands through her hair, causing the remaining leaves to float to the ground. “I think, I took the poor tree by surprise though because it lost a lot of leaves. Or, maybe it wanted to make me a tree by decorating me in its leaves. I don’t think I’d make a very good tree but if it wanted to make me a tree that was very thoughtful of it.” She turns towards the tree and soft pats its truck. “You are a thoughtful tree,” she muses and then her eyes widen while she gasps. “I’m losing the race!”

Blu twirls around the tree, preparing to run after the birds but pauses for a moment. “Which way did they go again?” she mumbles and then taps her finger against her lips. “Was it that way? No, that’s not the way…”

“Blu?” Gandalf calls as he guides his horse around the tree.

“Hm?” Blu turns around to face him.

“Are you alright?”

“Oh! Yes, I’m fine. I just can’t remember which way the birds went. Which I guess means that I lost…” she pouts with a shrug before smiling. “But I won the first race!”

“Why were you racing birds?” asks Bilbo, guiding his horse around the tree to where Blu and Gandalf are.

“Cause it was fun.”

Bilbo makes a face of amused understanding and nods. “Alright. Are you going somewhere in particular?”

Blu shakes her hair, her unruly hair bouncing with the movement and she whacks a strand out of her face when it falls over her right eye. “Nope, just wandering around. Why?”

“I was hoping you would travel with us for a while?” Bilbo looks curiously at the company who round the tree and all appear to be fine with his question. Turning his attention back to Blu he nervously smiles. “If you want to that is…”

“I’d love to!” Blu happily says. “Lead the way, my friends!”

Thorin huffs in annoyance as Minty trots over to Blu and  _refuses_  to leave her side as they travel on once more. He can’t understand his horse’s fascination with Blu but he’s resigned himself to allowing Minty to trot beside her. It’s easier than fighting with her to stay away and it didn’t cause any harm to allow her to do so. Minty isn’t normally one to befriend anyone, often referred to as a stubborn horse who only likes and minds Thorin. So the fact that she seems to have befriended Blu is odd, to say the least.

Thorin’s gaze drifts about the forest, keeping an eye out for danger and after finding none, his gaze slowly gaze lands on Blu. She’s making grand gestures while she speaks to his nephews, who are amused to no end by whatever it is that she is saying. The entire company stops for a moment and she brushes her hair back. As she does so, Thorin notices that a single leaf remains in her hair, wrapped in one of her curls at the top of her head.

His hand moves on its own accord as he leans over and reaches for the leaf. His fingers brush through her curls in the gentlest manner and he’s surprised at the softness of her hair. For his fingers glide right through and he’s able to untangle the leaf without a fuss. Her fingers brush over his and its then his actions register to him. He freezes for a moment, gaze locked on his fingers that are covered by hers and he looks at her with a mildly startled gaze when she turns her head to look at him.

For the briefest moment Thorin stares at Blu gauging her reaction but she just seems curious as to what he was doing than anything else. She lowers her hand while he retracts his and he clears his throat as he holds up a leaf. “This was in your hair,” he explains and finds himself getting lost in her gaze as she looks up at him.

Blu blinks curiously at Thorin before looking at his hand and giggles. “Was it?” she holds out her hand and he nods, placing the leaf in her palm, his fingers brushing against hers as he retracts his hand. “Thank you, I probably would have just walked around with it in my hair all day long.”

“You’re welcome,” he says, then orders everyone to walk on. Though some of the company stare at him with curiosity due to what he just did.

“Thorin?” Blu asks, walking beside Minty once more and twirls the leaf around in her hand.

“Yes?” he replies, casting a glance at her before looking around the forest.

“Would you ever want to be a tree?”

He looks down at her in confusion. “What?”

Her gaze remains on the leaf as she speaks. “A tree,” she repeats. “Would you ever want to be one?”

“No.”

“That’s unfortunate. I think you’d make a great tree! You’d be a strong, sturdy and stoic tree!”

Thorin truly doesn’t know what to make of Blu’s statement as it’s clear she compliment him but has done so in a rather unusual way. “Thank you…” he says with some uncertainty that goes unnoticed by Blu.

Blu flashes her signature smile to him before looking at the leaf once more. A breeze passes through the forest and she lets go of the leaf, watching as it floats away in the wind. “I don’t think Gandalf would make a very good tree, he’s too old,” she teases and Gandalf looks over his shoulder at her with playfully narrowed eyes. She raises her brows and pursed her lips together while scrunching up her nose. “What? I didn’t say anything!”

“I heard nothing,” interjects Kili while nodding his head.

Nodding, Blu points to Kili and looks at Gandalf with a playful smile. “See? Kili heard nothing. I think you’re hearing things, old friend!”

“Such disrespect,” mutters Gandalf as he rolls his eyes but a smile never leaves his face while he turns his attention to the road ahead of him.

“Told you, Gandalf is too old. He’s hearing things,” Blu whispers to Thorin who snorts softly and gazes down at Blu with a faint soft smile.


	4. A Lifesaver Of Sorts

Thorin surveys his surroundings as he stands waiting for the company to pack their belongings. There had been indications of danger near to their current location and it set him on edge. Something drawing near causes his muscles tense and his hand grips the hilt of his sword. 

His hardened gazes drifts about, searching for the location of the approaching sound. It’s difficult to determine the location of the sound as its constantly changing direction.

There could multiple threats closing in on them and Thorin knows that there isn’t enough time for the company to react. Various scenarios go through his mind, one after the other, trying to figure out the best plan of action. A sound from behind him determines  _his_  plan of action and silently he draws his sword. His grip tightens, knuckles turning a faint white under the pressure and he takes a deep breath. Focusing his mind on the sound behind him.

In a flash he spins around, the world blurs together and he prepares to strike whatever is behind him  _dead_. A sharp intake of breath causes him to halt his movements and he stares ahead in horrified surprise, frozen to the very spot he stood. His own breath getting caught in his throat for he nearly killed an innocent soul and that innocent soul is none other than  _Blu_. She stands frozen with her closed fists raised above her head and her gaze focused on her nose. Where Thorin’s sword is just a hair away from her nose if she moves even the slightest bit forward, she’ll be impaled.

Aside from the soft rustling of leaves in the midday’s breeze, it’s tensely silent. No one spoke as the company stood in shock at the situation they are witnessing. For they do not know why Thorin has his sword drawn and pointed at Blu. And, they did not know why she appeared to be, dare they say _happy_ about it?

“That really is a dazzling sword!” Blu happily exclaims, a joyful smile gracing her face. She looks to Thorin and her smile falters just slightly. “You look mad…”

“WHAT WERE YOU DOING?” Thorin bellows at her but remains frozen in place with his sword  _still_  pointed at her. His mind running wild with the notion that he nearly  _killed_  her.

“Getting berries,” she says as if it’s obvious as what she was doing and shakes her fists.

“What?” he sighs in annoyed relief though stares at Blu as if she’s lost her mind.

“Berries,” she repeats, her smile returning once more. “I was picking them but there are still plenty more so there is no reason to behead me for these.”

Thorin practically  _growls_  and lowers his sword to his side. What the blazes was Blu thinking just wandering about the bushes in search for berries when there had been clear signs of danger nearby? She could have been killed! He could have killed her and nearly did!

“You is very grumpy today,” says Blu, pouring all the berries into her right hand before grabbing one. She outstretches her hand to Thorin who glares at her. “Here grumpy, berries- well, in this case,  _a berry_ , always make things better!”

Clenching his jaw, he swiftly takes the berry from her and sheathes his sword. “I am not  _grumpy_.”

Blu’s brows raise and she nods with a playful smile. “Of course not.” Before Thorin can respond, she swiftly passes him and makes her way towards the waiting company. “You coming grumpy?”

With a roll of his eyes, Thorin practically stomps after Blu, muttering to himself how he isn’t grumpy. He still can’t get over the fact that he nearly killed her but she doesn’t appear to be fazed by it in the slightest. Her current behavior only solidifying that assumption. 

She sways from side to side, humming softly to herself while tossing berry after berry into the air. With a swift tilt of her head, she catches every berry in her mouth and claps with glee at her success. Not typical behavior for someone who nearly  _died_  moments ago. But, Thorin has gathered that Blu tends  _not_  to act in a typical manner of any sorts.

Before returning to the waiting company, he does a quick check of the immediate area. Something didn’t sit right with him, something was off. But, there is no threat lingering nearby and perhaps his uneasiness is due to nearly killing Blu. 

With a shake of his head, he places the berry she gave him in his pocket and heads for his horse. His hardened gaze tells the company to leave him be, not wanting to be at the receiving end of his anger.

“You okay?” a gentle voice asks and Thorin whips his head towards it, having been brought out an unknown sort of daze as he got lost in his thoughts. Blu stands beside his horse, her head tilted to the side while gazing at him with the utmost concern. Despite his hardened gaze, her expression remains soft as she waits for a reply.

“ _Fine_ ,” he curtly replies, though he didn’t intend for it to come out as such.

Blu simply gives him a kind smile that instantly causes him to feel a sense of guilt for his unintended harsh tone. He opens his mouth to speak but decides against it. With a shake of his head, he mounts his horse and sets off with Blu walking beside him. He finds it odd that despite his attitude and untended tone towards her, she still remains by his side. Though he wonders if it’s only for his horse, Minty, that she is, for her attention tends to fall upon her rather than him.

A gust a wind brushes through the traveling company and Blu flinches slightly when her hair is sent flying in every direction. Momentarily blurring her vision with her own curls. Her hands flap wildly at her hair as she walks, hoping to clear her vision. But it’s no avail, as her curls continue to flutter in the wind. 

Something catches her eye through the curtain of hair and she runs forward without a word. Her speed is swift as she steps onto a few rocks to the side of the traveling company and she launches herself into the air. Her hand makes contact with a blur in midair and she lands with a roll to her knees.

Gandalf, mildly startled by Blu’s actions, guides his horse to halt beside her. He gazes down at her with a raised brow. Before he can mutter a word, Blu brushes her hair back from her face and smiles proudly at him, while holding up  _a leaf_. “I saved you. Again!”

A hearty chuckle leaves the old wizard’s mouth. “Indeed, you did.”

Rising to her feet, Blu dramatically drops the leaf to the ground before placing her hands on her hips. “Look at me just saving lives left and right. I should introduce myself as “Blu Deverarow: The Life Saver” cause at some point in time I’ll save your life! Well hopefully not, cause then that would mean you’re in danger and being in danger is not good. No, no, no, it is not.”

“It was a leaf,” says Kili, a look of utter bewilderment on his face. An expression that’s mirrored by the other dwarfs and hobbit.

“But it could have been a  _poisonous leaf_!” defends Blu.

“Poisonous leaf?” exclaims Oin and swiftly dismounts his horse to inspect the leaf that Blu dropped. “Why are ya touchin leaves that could be poisonous? Ya should never touch them!”

“Well, I am  _significantly younger_ than Gandalf and therefore stand a better chance at surviving being poised than he does,” Blu proudly states as she shows Oin’s her hands. The old healer squints at her hands in search for anything that may be concerning but finds that her hands are perfectly fine.

“What did you mean by again?” asks Bilbo and Blu turns to him with a mildly confused expression. “You said you saved Gandalf  _again_ …”

“Oh! That’s how Gandalf and I first met,” laughs Blu which causes everyone to smile at the joyful sound. “I saved him from a  _poisonous leaf_ when I was just a wee little thing,” she gestures to herself then furrows her brows together before gesturing to the ground. “Well, a wee-er little thing than what I am now.”

“Ya’re fine lass but don’t go touching any poisonous leaves,” says Oin and Blu nods, though, he doubts she will take his advice.

The old healer returns to his horse and Blu stretches her arms above her head while bouncing in place. Gandalf reaches down to grasp her hand in his before hauling her up, which was a bit easier when they were both younger but he manages all the same. He holds her up for a couple of seconds as she hikes her leg over the backside of his horse and situates herself behind him with her back to his. Releasing her hand once she’s settled, he turns forward and ushers his horse onward.

“What was I saying?” asks Blu. Then repeatedly taps her forefinger against her lips. “It was something, but what was it?” she mutters.

“You were telling us how you and Gandalf met,” says Bilbo.

“Oh right!” she cheerfully exclaims. Then clears her throat and extends her arms outwards. In a proud yet absolutely ridiculous voice says: “There he was, lost and alone in the forest. Yes, it is true, the great Gandalf the Grey was  _lost_  until he was saved by wee little me!” she points to herself with both her forefingers and nods. “That’s right, wee little me, barely able to walk, saved Gandalf’s life! But, how? You may wonder, well, the wind had sent leaves flying and they were heading straight for him. He was blinded by his hat, which had fallen over his eyes and did not see the dangerous leaves heading for him, so I ran-well staggered to him and slapped the leaves away, which could have been poisonous leaves, mind you! And thus, saved his life.” She places her hands on her hips with both her eyebrows raised and Gandalf shake his head with an amused chuckle. “He’s laughing ‘cause he knows it’s true!”

Thorin and his company now understand why Gandalf had said that he enjoys hearing  _Blu’s side_  of how they met, as her facial expressions and tone were rather amusing to behold.

“So I brought him home but Ama said I couldn’t keep him. Cause “You can’t keep people.” But I saved him, so I still think he should have stayed around!” says Blu and twist her head to look at Gandalf who turns his head to look at her. “You really should have stayed.”

“I did, don’t you remember?”

“Well yes, but that wasn’t long enough!”

“How long would be long enough?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugs with a lopsided grin. “But longer than you did! Who else was I to talk to?”

A teasing smile graces the old wizard’s face as he raises both his brows. “Your siblings.”

“You have siblings?” asks Kili and Blu turns her attention to him with an enthusiastic nod. “How many?”

“There’s three.” She replies with a giddy smile and holds up one finger. “My older brother, Gavu.”

“Gavumir,” says Gandalf in order to inform the company of her Brother’s given name.

“Yes,” she nods and holds up a second finger. “Then my sister, Sumi.”

“Sumia,” replies Gandalf with a chuckle and glances at the company who are thoroughly entertained, though slightly confused as well.

“Right!” she nods again then holds up a third and final finger. “And Blu.”

“You,” Gandalf fondly corrects.

“Exactly!” Proudly, she crosses her arms and looks at the amused, yet bewildered company. “What? I count as a sibling.”

While her statement is correct, in a manner of speaking, it wasn’t quite the statement they were anticipating. Everyone struggles to contain their amusement, some turning their heads away from her direction and others snickering softly. Bilbo composes himself before speaking. “Do your siblings resemble you?”

With an even more enthusiastic nod than before, Blu looks to Bilbo with a wide smile. “Yes!”

“No,” says Gandalf with a shake of his head.

With a pleased expression, Blu points to Gandalf. “Exactl- What do you mean no?” her face contorts in confusion as she struggles to turn herself around in an effort to see Gandalf. “We do so!”

“No, you do not.”

“Do so!”

“No.”

“We do so!” exclaims Blu with a huff and foregoes turning around. Looking towards the company once more she shakes her head. “Ignore Gandalf, he’s old,” she teases and Gandalf chuckles. “My siblings and I, DO resemble each other.” She briefly raises her right shoulder towards her face with a smile. “Because, Gavu, he has blonde hair and blue eyes…” her brows furrow together as her unfocused gaze shifts around her. “And, Sumi, she has curly brown hair and light blue eyes…and they are both taller than me but almost everyone always is.” She says more to herself than to those around her. Incoherent murmurs drift passed her lips as her gaze shifts about. “Well, at FIRST, we may not resemble each other but if we all stand near each other, there is a resemblance! Though, they will always have nicer eyes than me.” She says with an annoyed pout.

“You don’t like your eyes?” asks Bilbo, a look of pure confusion on his face.

Blu shakes her head so swiftly that a few of her curls smack her in the face and she brushes her hands through her hair. “Not at all!”

“Uh, why is that?” inquires the hobbit.

Somehow Blu’s hair became tangled in her hands and she raises them above her head. “Because I can’t be sneaky!” Extending her arms in front of her, she wiggles her fingers around in efforts to untangle them. Through small gaps, she looks to Bilbo while continuing her efforts. “And, I am a very sneaky person. But, I could be an even sneakier person if I had, blue eyes or even brown eyes! Do you know how hard it is to be sneaky with eyes that like mine? It’s extremely difficult, let me tell you.”

Bilbo looks to the others and just like him, they are all confused but rather amused. Their gazes turn to Blu and they smile as she continues to untangle her hands from her hair. It’s highly doubtful to them that her eyes are what prevents her from being “sneaky”. Her wild hair alone could easily be spotted from a distance but they don’t press the matter any further.

“Haha!” exclaims Blu with a triumphant smile, as she finally removes her hairs from her hair. Untying the ivory ribbon from her belt she haphazardly ties her hair back. “There, that should keep my hair out of face for a bit,” she mutters to herself.

“You are the youngest in your family Blu?” Kili asks, guiding his horse further up the line in order to see her.

“Yes indeed! I am the baby,” She happily replies.

“How old are you?”

“I am-huh…” Blu closes her mouth and furrows her brows together. “I am….hum….”

“Did you forget your age?” Gandalf glances over his shoulder to look at Blu.

“What? Pffft, no!” She replies and sits up straight. “I think, I would remember how old I am, Gandalf.”

“Then how old are you?” he asks with a raised brow.

“Younger than you!” she nervously laughs and clears her throat. Her unfocused gaze shifts around her as she taps her forefinger against her lips. “Two…..eight…no that’s not, but I was about five…no…,” she mumbles. “They were about….so that would have made me….but that’s not right…maybe…” she says to herself. “Perhaps…no that’s not right either….huh…”

With a fond eye roll, Gandalf says something to Blu and the dwarfs recognize the language as Elvish, which makes Thorin bristle at whatever was said.

“I knew that,” Blu announces with a playful eye roll before looking to Kili. “I am…” she pauses and Gandalf repeats himself which causes her to laugh. “One hundred and eighty, seven years old!”

The shock and surprise of her age couldn’t be concealed by Thorin and his company. All mutter and stare in disbelief, surely she isn’t  _that_  old. With a smile never leaving her face, Blu turns her head to the side and whispers so softly that only Gandalf can hear her. “Am I really that old?” she looks up at him from the corner of her eyes. Peering over his shoulder, Gandalf nods with a fond smile. “Huh, who knew,” she giggles before turning to face the company once more.

“You’re older than me!” exclaims Kili, his wide eyes focused solely on Blu.

“I am?” asks Blu with an uncertain smile, her eyes drifting about.

“Yes!” exclaims Fili, guiding his horse to trot beside his younger brother’s. “We both thought you were younger!”

“Why?”  

“Because you look so young!” replies Kili, his eyes still fixated on her. His mind struggles to comprehend that Blu is, in fact, older than him.

“Oh!” exclaims Blu with a bashful smile. “Thank you! It’s the Elf in me, keeps one looking youthful.” She nods happily. Brushing a stray curl behind her right ear, she gazes thoughtfully into the distance. “I suppose, I have my Mother to thank for that ‘cause she’s a Huelf.”

“Your Mother is a what?” asks Thorin, gaining Blu attention.

“A Huelf.” She repeats while tilting her head to the side. “You’ve never heard of that before?”

Thorin shakes his head with furrowed brows. “No.”

“Have any of you heard of that before?” asks Blu, her gaze drifting about the company. None of the company have any idea what she talking about and all shake their heads. “Huh, okay. Well, a Huelf is a Human and Elf. So, when combined you get a Huelf!”

"I apologize,” says Thorin, with the utmost sincerity in his voice.

Feeling as if she missed something, Blu glances around in confusion before looking at Thorin. “For what?

“For nearly killing you this morning.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it,” she waves her hand dismissively at him with a smile. “Happens all the time.”

“Nearly being killed is a common occurrence for you?” he asks incredulously.

“Oh yes! Yes, yes, it’s very common for me,” she nonchalantly replies. “I’m very impulsive and a terrible judge of distances.” She extents her hand away from her as if to indicate distance. The force of her abrupt movement causes her to wobble as she became unbalanced. And, she finds herself slipping off Gandalf’s horse with a squeal. Flailing her arms about and thrusting her body backward, Blu is able to right herself back onto the horse. Her wide eyes stare directly at Thorin. “That was deliberate!” she announces, her once tied back hair now slipping out of the ribbon. “I was proving my point. You’re welcome for the example.”

It’s silent for a moment as Thorin and Blu stare at each other before she bursts into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. Despite his best efforts, Thorin can’t contain his own laughter and begins to laugh along with her. It takes a few moments for them to compose themselves but a smile never leaves either of their faces. Out of the corner of her eye, Blu sees her ribbon and gently grabs it, causing her hair to fluff into its usual unruly nature. “So what do you do when you are companying, Thorin?”

Slightly confused, Thorin raises a brow. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, what do you do? Like, are you a Baker or a Coins Master or Bargeman? Things like that.”

“I’m a Blacksmith.”

Blu nods absentmindedly, her gaze fixated on her waist as she ties her ribbon onto her belt. “A Blacksmith,” she muses then tilts her head to the side before her gaze shifts to him with a surprised expression. “A Blacksmith?”

“Yes.”

“A Blacksmith?” she repeats, an excited smile blooming onto her face. “You’re a Blacksmith! Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”

“You never asked.”

Blu raises a finger as it to object to Thorin’s comment but ends up pointing at him. “True, but friends tell friends what they do.”

“What do you do then?” he counters.

“I travel, isn’t it obvious? But, Thorin, you’re a Blacksmith?”

“Yes, I am a Blacksmith,” he replies with a heavy sigh that morphs into a soft chuckle.  

“So does that mean you can make swords?” she stares at him expectantly and gasps when he nods his head. “You can?”

“Yes,” Thorin replies then flinches when Blu lets out a loud squeal that startles everyone, including Gandalf. She bombards him questions about how he makes swords, and what kind of metal is used and, or if there are different kinds of metals for different swords. In fact, she asks so many questions that Thorin wonders how she’s even still breathing with how swiftly she’s asking them. With every question she asks, he unconsciously leans away from her. Which the company find  _beyond_  amusing.

With a deep breath, Blu looks at him expectantly while bouncing in place. “So?”

Sitting up straight, Thorin clears his throat. “Which question do you want an answer for?”

“All of them!” she happily replies with her signature smile. “Please?”

Thorin nods and answers as many questions as he can recall. Blu is positively captivated by him, hanging on his every word. Leaning forward then resting her arms on Gandalf’s rolled up sack that is in front of her. Thorin’s horse, Minty, trots up to be within arm’s reach of her. Neighing happily when Blu’s hand comes to softly stroke her snout. 

But, Blu’s attention remains solely on Thorin as he speaks, nodding and smiling periodically. The ease of conversation between them, the dwarfs find slightly peculiar. Having not seen Thorin be so  _visibly comfortable_  while speaking to someone before. But, perhaps what is most peculiar about him at this very moment, is the smile that seems to remain present on his face as he gazes at her.


End file.
